The upcoming opponent as well as the venue will probably bring back special memories for double winner Sturm Graz.
In the last round of the previous season, the Graz team were crowned champions with a 2-0 home win against Austria Klagenfurt, and just a month before that they won the cup against Rapid in the Wörthersee Stadium. On Saturday (5:00 p.m. in the LIVE ticker>>>) Sturm will be visiting Carinthia’s capital again in the third round of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga.
There, Christian Ilzer’s team is aiming for its second win of the season. After a failed start at Rapid, Sturm were able to breathe a sigh of relief in the Styrian derby. “The win against Hartberg was good and was also confirmation that everything is going in the right direction,” explained coach Ilzer.
Open personnel question at Sturm
Klagenfurt is now an unpleasant opponent, but the team’s strengths have not been lost despite the squad shake-up. “Nevertheless, we are travelling to the neighbouring team with the clear intention of putting in a very good performance and winning,” said Ilzer, whose team had only lost one of the twelve duels with the Carinthians in the Bundesliga.
At the beginning of the week, the Sturm coach was worried about a virus that was plaguing the team: “We will look at who is really 100 percent fit by match day and nominate the squad accordingly.”
It is also questionable whether the attackers Manprit Sarkaria and Szymon Wlodarczyk, who are willing to leave, will travel to Klagenfurt.
Klagenfurt wants to gain momentum against “the next big caliber”
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Klagenfurt completely botched their league opener at WAC (1:4), but last week they had their first taste of success against Rapid (1:1) despite being outnumbered.
“It was a good feeling and very important for morale. Especially since we got the draw in a duel with an opponent who was in good form and highly rated,” said coach Peter Pacult. With champions Sturm, however, the “next big caliber” is now coming to the Wörthersee Stadium.
“We want to keep the momentum going, be at our best in terms of running and fighting. But we also need to improve our game. Just defending won’t be enough,” Pacult said.
Mahrer banned after controversial exclusion
The 64-year-old Viennese is forced to make a change in defence. Captain Thorsten Mahrer is suspended after his highly controversial red card against Rapid. Striker Sebastian Soto will miss the duel with the champions due to knee problems.
On Saturday, two long-term coaches will face off on the sidelines. Sturm head coach Ilzer (since July 2020) is the longest-serving coach in the Bundesliga, while his counterpart Pacult (since January 2021) is number two in this ranking.
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